The invention relates to systems and methods for determining the quantity of fluid in a vessel or container.
Over the years, many different solutions have been pursued for economical and accurate ways to determine the quantity of fluid in a container. For example, in the aircraft industry, determining the quantity of fuel in a fuel tank is important not only as a safety concern, but presents special challenges due to the dynamic flight conditions such as pitch and roll. This is especially so for military aircraft. Some of the fuel gauging designs used heretofore include capacitive sensors and ultrasonic sensors. While these approaches can be effective, they also have certain drawbacks such as being susceptible to electromagnetic interference. The measurements are often dependent on such variables as tank size and configuration, ullage pressure, airplane attitude, fuel density and fuel temperature, to name just a few. It is this operating environment that renders most fuel gauging systems to be more complex and less accurate than desired.